Interview with Author – Hannah Parry

I am a counsellor who holds a Masters Degree in Creative Writing from Birkbeck College, London.

My short stories for adults, The Chrysalis and For What It’s Worth, have both been published, and her first novel, Winter’s Bite, won first prize in the 12+ fiction category at the Winchester Writers Conference, UK in June 2012.

Fever Quest, the sequel to Winter’s Bite was published in December 2014.

I’m writing an adult thriller at present which I hope to finish by October 2015.

What inspires you to write?
I’ve always read a lot – maybe too much in a way – using it as a form of escape. I’d had a particularly bad couple of years – my mother had died and my Dad was ill and I was reading a book which, to be honest, was rubbish. I went to put it back on the shelf thinking to myself ‘I could do better than that,’ and I heard, out of the blue, a very loud voice in my head say ‘WELL WHY DON’T YOU THEN?”

So I did.

Tell us about your writing process.
I’ve been a pantser twice but it was such agony (60,000 words in the trash for Fever Quest – yes – 60,000!!!!!) I thought this book would be different. So I have used Syd Field’s brilliant book on writing a screenplay to plan my book, and it seems to be working!!! It’s very different, but I really like it as I know where I am going and I can just enjoy the writing.

I am a very slow learner…

For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I listen to them and if they are talking, I often lipsync as I type and pull they faces I think they would have on when they speak. I don’t get out much, obviously.

What advice would you give other writers?
Read a ton and write, write, write and write. Do lots of courses – you can do free ones with the University of Iowa online and you can sit in on classes at your local colleges/University too for free. Get to know other writers online. Above all try not to let what others think affect you. (VERY HARD).

How did you decide how to publish your books?
I nearly got traditionally published but was told by an eminent editor what I wrote wasn’t fashionable and no one would buy it. That wasn’t to say it wasn’t a good book – it was just business. My tutor at Uni was so incensed she told me to ‘just get it out there.’ So I self-published. It’s a very long old road, but I am just seeing the benefits now and am so pleased I did. That’s not to say I don’t stare longingly at the bookshelves in Waterstones, but it’s ok. My books are fine. They hold up against traditionally published and that’s what matters to me. (Wouldn’t mind a film deal tho’…)

What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I just read the traditional publishers have lost a third of the Kindle market in the last year, so it’s not looking good for them in that area. However I do think they do a lovely job with paperbacks, but I think the hardback market is becoming obsolete. They need to look at their digital output very carefully. Many of them don’t even offer to publish new authors a Kindle copy alongside print and that is just madness when millions of people are reading on their phones. I’ve seen typos on Kindle copies of MASSIVELY FAMOUS authors’ books – that is inexcusable.

What do you use?: Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer, Beta Readers

What genres do you write?: Historical, thriller, mystery, children’s, young adult, women, crime.